Rise of the Heroes
by daviatella
Summary: A lonely boy who wants to honor his father's legacy. A pair of twins, a boy with a powerful quirk and his sister, overshadowed by it. A misfit girl, forced upon a path she didn't want to take. What do all of these have in common? Four extra students are accepted into Class 1-A, and suddenly nothing is quite the same. AU/OCs. [Earlier chapters are being expanded/updated/rewritten]
1. Chapter 1 - Hope & Jealousy

_Tokyo Suburbs, 10 years ago_

A boy with snow white hair reacted with shock to what he his mother had just said: tomorrow, he wouldn't be going back to school. She sat beside him in his bed. Although she tried to be as positive as possible with her son, Miyuki doubted their lives would get easier with time.

"But Mom! I wanna go to school!"

"Nonsense. With a quirk like yours, you'll make a fine hero. From now on, let's focus on getting you into UA, after all, you want to be like your father when you grow up, don't you?"

"Y-Yes, but-"

"No but's! You'll do fine with my homeschooling. Now go to sleep.

"Goodnight mommy!"

"Goodnight, Zatsu."

Miyuki Hitoshi closed the door of her son's bedroom as she headed towards her own. She looked over to the cupboard, filled with pictures of a happy family, now incomplete. Ever since the boy's father became a hero, he barely had any time at home, but she had loved him nonetheless.

After his death at the hands of a villain, she fell into a deep void of depression and anxiety regarding hers and her son's future. When she discovered that her son had inherited his father's teleportation quirk, she decided she would do whatever she needed to help the boy achieve his dream. Whatever it took, she would honor her husband's legacy.

 **-~ROTH~-**

 _Meanwhile, in a richer neighborhood_

"Mommy, look at my quirk!" Said the small girl, who quickly became two as a perfect copy of her spliced from her body like a cell.

Her mom, however, was too busy taking pictures of her twin brother and his quirk.

Ever since Kishigawa's quirk had revealed itself, it was clear just how big the boy's potential was. Being able to make energy constructs had put the boy in a spotlight, and everyone now seemed to pay more attention to him than to his sister.

"Oh, Kishi! With a quirk as strong as yours, you'll be really strong!" Beamed the young mother as she gave no attention to her daughter's cries.

Having noticed her mother's lack of attention, both young girls burst crying and ran out of the room, but were quickly followed by her brother, who had gotten free from his mother's clutches. He quickly found her hiding in her room, sulking in the corner.

"Sis! Why are you crying?" asked the blonde boy.

"Mommy only listens to you! If I had a quirk as cool as yours-"

"Don't say that! Your quirk is really strong! Besides, a powerful quirk is nothing if you don't have skill, which I'm sure you have more than I do."

"R-Really?" Cried the young girl.

"Yes, Remember that time you beat up that kid who threatened me? I barely gave him a scratch!"

"That was nothing!"

"Nothing!? That guy was three times your size! Come on, let's go back to watching tv! We're missing precious time!

"Ok, brother." giggled the girl, following her brother out of the room.

 **-~ROTH~-**

 _2 years later_

Miyuki Hitoshi looked over to her son, playing by himself in the backyard. With his birthday right around the corner, she was having more and more trouble finding people to invite. The boy rarely left the house, and since he didn't go to school he didn't have any friends. She saw her nephew as a last resort. They hadn't seen each other in a couple of years, but at least Zatsu wouldn't be by himself on his birthday.

"I'm sorry for calling so early, Kaguya. Zatsu's seventh birthday party is tomorrow and I've got no one to invite! I swear that kid is more antisocial than I was, I'm sure you remember that very well. Anyways, could you bring Shinsou? He's about Zatsu's age isn't he? I thought it would be a great opportunity for the two to grow closer, since both of them don't seem to have many friends. Call me back when you get this message, love you!"

She sighed and closed her phone, turning her gaze once again to her son. The boy seemed unfazed by his solitude, as if the company of his toys was enough. She walked over to him, and the boy raised his head and looked at her. "What is it, mommy?" he asked, quietly.

"It's just- Don't you want to go to the park? Play with other kids?"

"I'm okay by myself. " His mother sighed once again.

"I invited your cousin Shinsou to your birthday tomorrow, is that okay?"

"Sure. Is he the one with the weird quirk?" He asked, nonchalantly.

"Ye- I mean, you shouldn't treat him any differently just because his quirk is… unusual. If anything his quirk is as good as yours when it comes to fighting bad guys." She walked inside and decided to call it a day. Her only hopes were that everything would go alright between the two boys.

 **-~ROTH~-**

"Shinsou! It's so nice to see you! Come in!"

"Hello aunt Miyuki."

Ever since his quirk had emerged, people seemed to be more afraid of him, even past friends now avoided him whenever he was close. The boy entered the house expecting a crowd of people. Instead, what he found was his cousin watching TV by himself. "Hello, cousin."

"Shinsou! It's been a while!" The two boys chatted for a while, before settling on the topic of heroics. "You plan on going to UA too, right?" The purple haired boy asked.

"Yeah. It's where my father went, so I'm training extra hard to get in!"

"It's just… do you think they'll let me in with a quirk like this? Everyone already thinks I'm going to end up a villain…"

"Don't say that! Your quirk is great for catching bad guys! Besides, what matters is how you use it." Shinsou smiled at his cousin's comment, before raising his head and looking directly at him.

"Let's eat some cake before it gets cold." Zatsu smiled back and followed his cousin to the kitchen.

 **-~ROTH~-**

Kagome walked home from school by herself. Although normally she was accompanied by her brother, it had been the second time that week he had skipped school. Finally, she saw him in a park near their house, trying to break a stone with an energy sword made with his quirk. He looked quite tired, but the stone had no visible marks on it.

"Kishi! Is that what you've been doing when you're not at school?" She asked, surprised by the boy's state.

"S-sis! You don't get it! I have to be stronger if I want to be a hero!" Kishigawa answered, energetically, before raising his head with fear in his eyes.

"Who says you're going to be a hero, dummy?" A menacing voice came from behind Kagome. She turned around and saw two tall boys around their age. "If anything, my father can get you a job as a janitor, I'm sure you'll do great." The girl recognized the boy from their class.

"Do you two want to die?" The girl asked angrily.

"Sis! H-he's the reason I'm training… be careful, he's stronger than he looks!"

"Do you think that makes me afraid?"

"You think you'd win against me in a fight?" The boy asked, with mockery in his voice.

"Bring it on!" Kagome screamed before making a copy of herself and jumping towards both boys. Kishigawa saw his sister's struggles and jumped in after her, sword and shield in hand. He focused on helping his sister fight the bully, while the copy pinned down the other boy. He fell back into the ground as the boy's fist hit his face, but quickly got back up and swung his shield, hitting the bully's chest at the same time his sister kicked his head, making the boy retreat.

"You idiots! This isn't over!" Kagome accepted the boy's surrender and let go of the other bully, who ran away.

"Kishi, you have to tell me when people are mean to you! I'm your sister!"

"I was afraid they were going to hurt you…"

"Nah, now they're afraid of us! Let's go home, it's getting late." Kishi smiled and hugged his sister as both twins made their way home. That day, their mother was surprised to find both of her children with bruises. While Kishigawa tried to make up an excuse, Kagome's pride won over her as she told the story of how the two of them fought his bullies, which left both of them grounded, but not without making their mother proud.

 **-~ROTH~-**

 _Present_

A white haired teenager sat alone in his backyard, staring into the sky. Suddenly, he heard a noise behind him. ' _As if I'm going to let you sneak up on me like that'_ the boy thought, teleporting two meters behind his current location. He jumped immediately after teleporting, and proceeded to fall on top of his stalker.

"Zatsu! You won again!" Cheered the boy's mother, surprised by her son's quick reactions.

"I get that you want me to be like dad, but I don't think sneaking up on me is going to make me any better as a hero." Argued the boy, already sick of his mother's antics.

"It'll make you more alert to possible enemy attacks! Plus, now you know what to avoid if you're trying to be stealthy."

As they entered the house, the woman turned around and faced her son with tears in her eyes.

"Your f-father would be so proud of you…"Cried the mother, now openly sobbing. The boy said nothing, hugging his mother as both mourned in silence.

Zatsu Hitoshi had never had many friends. Most of his time nowadays was dedicated to studying or training his quirk, as a result of his lifelong dream of becoming a hero like his father. His mother, who had graduated in UA's support course, provided more incentive than the boy could hope for, developing new gadgets to help him and using training techniques taken from her late husband.

The boy made his way inside the house, heading towards his room. He considered revising his notes before sleeping, but ultimately rejected the idea.

' _There's no way I won't pass.'_ Thought the boy, now lying in his bed.

' _Father… I won't disappoint you.'_

That night, he slept early. After all, the next day the UA exams would be held, and he would need to be as active as he could be to pass.

 **Zatsu Hitoshi**

 **Quirk: Teleportation**

 **Zatsu can teleport anywhere within 10 meters of himself. However, he can only teleport twice per minute. His father, the pro hero Madash, had a similar quirk, but since he had more training his teleports were more frequent and in bigger distances. His teleports are stored as charges, so he can spend both quickly if he wants to.**

 **Kishigawa Matsuda**

 **Quirk: Energy Constructs**

 **Kishigawa can produce objects or weapons made out of energy. Since he was a child, he's had a big fascination with knights, so the constructs he uses the most are swords and shields. These constructs can be dismissed at will and last few seconds when not touching his body.**

 **Kagome Matsuda**

 **Quirk: Mitosis**

 **Kagome can create copies of herself. When she was a child, she could only make 1 copy, but more recently she's been able to make 2 copies. Because of her quirk's more limited applications, she's had martial arts classes for a long time.**


	2. Chapter 2 - Exams & Friends

Zatsu Hitoshi walked alone out of the train station, closely trailing a pair of siblings who didn't seem to get along very well. He ignored their banter, as he couldn't get his cousin Shinsou out of his head. A few years had passed since the boys had last seen each other, and he didn't know if Shinsou still planned to go to UA. His thoughts soon moved to his father. Ever since the day he got the news of his father's death, he held an even bigger grudge against villains

 **~-ROTH-~**

His father, the pro hero Madash, and his sidekick Hookshot were on a mission to arrest an infamous mafia boss, Hiruki Dairiseki. Their investigation had led them to an abandoned mansion on the outskirts. Although reinforcements were offered, the two of them thought this would be a simple job. Upon arriving at the white mansion the first thing they noticed was the big variety of statues and sculptures on the garden.

"Well, we found the stolen statues..." Hookshot commented, before looking over to the doors, which were barricaded with wood bars. Madash put his hand on his sidekick's shoulder before teleporting both inside the building, but quickly noticed his mistake when they appeared in the middle of a crowd composed by dozens of criminals.

Hookshot instinctively threw his fist forward, propelling a grapple from the palm of his hand which stuck to a man. He then used the rope to knock down the surrounding men whilst incapacitating the target. Meanwhile, Madash teleported around the room, deploying discs that stuck to the ground and released sleep gas. When he was out of discs, he stood and helped his sidekick fend off the incoming waves of criminals. As he teleported behind a grunt and kicked him into another, he noticed a few running up the stairs in fear.

"Hookshot! I'm going up, call me if you need any help!" He heard Hookshot moan a reply before running up the stairs. He now stood in an empty corridor, filled with doors. He walked towards one that was slightly ajar, hearing whispers from the other side. As he went into the room, he noticed a throne surrounded by several statues, bigger than the ones found in the garden. Sitting in the throne stood his target, Hiruki Dairiseki.

"Oh, look who's finally arrived! Y'know, I really overestimated your efficiency. Was a garden full of statues not obvious enough? No time for chit-chat , so let's get down to business." As he said those words, the statues around him came to life, brandishing weapons that now pointed in the pro hero's direction.

Madash saw through the distraction and tried to teleport directly to Hiruki, but the statues that weren't focused on attacking him formed a barrier around the man. He quickly grabbed more discs from his suit's pockets and stuck them to the statues chests, narrowly avoiding lunges and sharp edges. When most had one or more discs on their bodies, he pressed a button which detonated the objects, leaving several dismembered heads or members trying to move on the ground. He heard a noise behind him but had no time to react.

Hookshot ran up the stairs after Madash, somewhat angry for being left behind. As he heard several detonations, one of the doors in the corridor was blown wide open. He went in just as the statue's lance cut through Madash's body, splashing the room red with the man's blood. He pushed the statue aside and removed the lance from the body, pressuring the wounds with cloth.

"MADASH! Stay still, I'll try to stop the bleeding!" He shouted desperately.

"No. Get Dairiseki before he gets away…" Madash whimpered. Hookshot looked up and saw the man trying to sneak out of the room. He fired a Hookshot from his hand in the criminal's direction, perforating the man's shoulder. The man gave a scream of pain before being pulled to the ground.

"Hookshot, with wounds like these I'm not going to last. Promise me you'll tell my family I love them…" The dying man gave his last breaths as his eyes became glassy and unfocused.

"I-I promise!" He answered with tears in his eyes. He turned around and his mind filled with anger as he lashed out at the fallen mob boss, he realized his mistakes at the sight of the now bleeding body, and quickly stopped kicking the body. He pulled out a cellphone and called the first person that came into his mind.

"M-Miyuki, It's me. Haru."

 **~-ROTH-~**

Zatsu kept on following the teens, as although he looked confident, he had no idea where he was headed. He finally decided to speak up and tapped the girl's shoulder.

"Um… excuse me?" The boy asked the siblings, as both turned around to face him.

"Which way is the UA entrance exams?"

"Oh, you're going to UA too? Come walk with us! We can talk on the way there!" Offered one of the siblings, a boy with short blonde hair.

"As long as you're okay with Kishi's annoying voice…" Countered the girl who had the same blond hair, albeit longer.

"Don't be like that sis; you know you'll never get tired of me! My dazzling personality! Charming looks! What's not to like?" Laughed the charismatic teen, also evoking laughter from the other two.

"So, being siblings, do you guys have the similar quirks or something?" Asked the boy to his newfound friends.

"No, no! My quirk is far cooler!" The blonde boy exclaimed, producing a shining armor coupled with a sword and shield that seemed to be made out of pure light. "As you can see, I can make energy constructs of pretty much anything! I prefer to stick with the medieval stuff though, it looks too cool not to use."

"And my quirk, although not as flexible is probably just as strong!" The girl added, suddenly multiplying as two copies of her sprouted from her sides, the clones then arranged a human pyramid with the original on top.

"You really like showing off, don't you Kagome?" Asked her brother, sighing.

"Look who's talking, Mr. Shiny Armor!" The girl replied back, as the white haired boy stood close, giggling at the twins' hijinks.

"My quirk is not as flashy as yours, though I can't say it's weak." The boy said, suddenly appearing out of nowhere in front of the stunned siblings before throwing his cellphone in-between them, and snatching it before it fell behind them as he teleported back to his original location.

"Wow, that's awesome! Is there a limit?" Asked the surprised boy

"Yes, I can only teleport twice every minute, and only in a 10 meter radius. I'm used to these restrictions though, and I can assure you they won't limit me."

"Now that's confidence! By the way, I don't think we know your name." Remembered Kagome.

"I'm Zatsu Hitoshi, but feel free to call me Zatsu." The boy replied. "Hey look! We're here!" The trio approached the building, trying to make their way through the crowds. "Let's see… I'm on room 12." The boy said, checking his entrance ticket. "Are you guys on the same floor?" he asked.

"No, we both ended up on room 5. Hopefully we see each other in the practical exam, goodbye!' The enthusiastic blonde replied, running off into the building.

"Forgive my brother; he can be a bit… energetic. Kishi! Wait for me!" The girl said, as she ran off after her brother.

The boy sighed as he made his way into the building. 'I hope I get into the same class as those two, at least I would know someone from the get-go.' He thought, sitting down to start his written exam.

 **~-ROTH-~**

 _A few hours later_

"Hey Zatsu! We ended up together after all!" The unaware boy turned around and saw the twins he had met previously walking towards him.

"Did you guys have any trouble in the written test? I thought it was easier than the ones I did at home. Hopefully the practical test goes the same way."

"Piece of cake!" Said the twins in unison, grinning broadly.

As soon as the trio had made their way to the entrance, they heard the buzzer notifying the start, as the gates opened. Zatsu teleported twice to get a head start, sighting a 2-point robot to his left. The boy jumped on top of it and shoved a dagger hidden in his pocket inside the robot's head, before retrieving it and moving on.

Before he knew it, he was gathering dozens of points, using his teleportation skills to his advantage as he destroyed yet another robot with an exploding disc, the same model his father had. His spree was interrupted by shouts of battle coming from behind him, and as he turned around he faced yet again the troublesome twins fighting back to back, the boy attacking with his sword and shield and the girl, which had spliced into three, using what looked like a mix of martial arts to destroy a robot trying to sneak past them.

Suddenly, the boy saw an exploding robot threatening to fall on top of the battling duo. 'That's a 0-pointer. I wonder who wasted their time with that one.' He thought, before noticing that the duo was seemingly unaware of the robot falling towards them. "Hey! Kishigawa! Kagome watch out!" He shouted, trying to get their attention, but his warning went unnoticed as both siblings couldn't stop bickering. "Shit…" Zatsu whispered as he ran towards them.

The boy jumped into the air, teleporting a few meters in front of his previous position as he grabbed both twins and teleported 10 meters to his left, safe from the robot's deafening crash. Both twins looked at him in shock, before noticing their luck of having escaped.

"W-What just happened?!" Asked Kishigawa, with a startled look on his face.

"Z-Zatsu saved our asses, brother" His sister replied.

"THANK YOU!" Both twins cried, bowing to their savior, who smirked sheepishly.

"You guys need to be more careful next time! You could have gotten seriously hurt!"

"Ok, Mom!" Laughed Kishigawa, who had already recovered from his near death experience.

 **~-ROTH-~**

 _A few weeks later_

"I'm so proud of you Zatsu!" The boy grinned as his mother hugged him.

"Mom, I have to go now or I'll be late for my first day!"

"O-Okay, just know that I love you very much. Goodbye honey."

Zatsu walked out of his house feeling on top of the world. He did it. He got accepted into the same school his father attended, and was closer than ever to achieving his dreams. 'I hope those two knuckleheads are in the same class as me…' the boy thought, unaware that the twins he was talking about shared the same thought about him. He smiled one last time before getting in the train.

 **~-ROTH-~**

 **Daiki Hitoshi – Madash** **Quirk: Teleportation**

 **Works the same way as Zatsu's, but through his years of training his range doubled and he can teleport once every ten seconds.**

 **Haru Minami – Hookshot**

 **Quirk: Hookshot Hands**

 **Haru can create hookshots that propel from the palm of his hands, allowing him to grapple onto people or buildings. This can be used for combat but also to move him around, as he can extend or retract the ropes at will.**

 **Hiruki Dairiseki**

 **Quirk: Statue Control**

 **Hiruki can give life to statues and have them obey him, but he needs to stay still otherwise the link is broken. The material also influences his control, the degree of sentience in each statue is determined by how refined it is, making purer statues smarter than ones made with cheap materials.**


	3. Chapter 3 - Tests & Family

Zatsu walked into the empty classroom. He was surprised he was the first one to arrive, but this sentiment didn't last long, as a tall blue haired boy walked into the classroom with a serious expression on his face.

"Hello, I'm Iida Tenya." The boy greeted.

"Z-Zatsu Hitoshi" He replied, surprised by the strange boy's formalities.

"Where did you study before coming to UA? I'm from Soumei High School"

"I was homeschooled by my mother. We had pretty intensive studies focused on getting me into a good hero school, but personally I wouldn't really want to go to anywhere but UA." ' _After all, my father studied here...'_ The boy replied, saving the last part to himself.

Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of two other students, a blonde haired boy who looked like he was going to explode any moment and a shorter boy, with a black and slightly green hair, who was most likely unaware of his own mumbles.

'SHUT THE FUCK UP DEKU!" Screamed the blonde boy, startling the other three bystanders. Zatsu, having decided to avoid the boy, approached the previously mumbling boy, who was now blushing.

"Hello, I'm Zatsu Hitoshi, nice to meet you."

"Izuku Midoriya, n-nice to meet you too." Replied the boy shyly.

"ZATSU! YOU'RE HERE!" their conversation was interrupted by the sudden arrival of two blonde siblings, both of whom seemed to be exhausted from running.

"Hi guys, nice to see you two again." He replied, surprised by their entrance.

"Y'know I couldn't help but wonder who took down that 0-pointer. That thing was seriously big!" The blonde boy said, with a hand on his forehead.

"Now that you mention it, that really was a powerful explosion. Izuku, did you go to city replica B?" Zatsu asked, having remembered the intriguing explosion.

"Y-yes, why?" Answered the boy, who had turned to talk to a short haired girl.

"Did you catch who wrecked that giant robot?"

"Deku did! He did it to save me!" The girl Izuku was talking to interrupted.

"Deku? Who's that?" Asked Kagome, Looking around the classroom.

"Oh that's me. That's just what Kacchan calls me."

"You did that?! Man, your quirk must be really strong!" Zatsu said, surprised.

"YOU NEARLY KILLED US YOU BASTARD!" Kagome screamed as she was held back by her brother.

"Don't mind my sister, she can get a little worked up."

"I'LL SHOW YOU WORKED UP!" the angry girl countered.

After a couple of minutes, the classroom was bursting with noise as the other classmates arrived, but the blonde twins were once again arguing about something trivial. ' _Seems like there's still someone left'_ Zatsu thought, noticing an empty seat. His thought was confirmed by the arrival of a black haired girl, who looked like she had been crying. The girl was followed by a black, raining cloud on top of her, which didn't seem to help her mood, as she sat down in the remaining desk.

The entire class was startled by the sudden movements of a previously still sleeping back next to the teacher's desk. The bag opened slightly to reveal a man's face, which looked as if this was as common as the sunrise.

"I'm Professor Aizawa. Put these uniforms on and follow me outside." He said, gesturing to a stack of uniforms on top of his desk before removing the sleeping back and walking out of the classroom.

The class arrived in the scouting grounds after a couple of minutes, when the professor announced a apprehension test to measure each students' capabilities.

"The first test will be the softball pitch. Kishigawa, come here." The teacher said, handing him a small ball. "How far could you throw a ball in middle school?"

"About 60 meters s-sir." He replied.

"Try using you quirk." The boy complied, producing a light blue cannon made of energy out of his hands. He set it on the ground, careful not to remove his hands from it as he placed the ball inside and pressed the button on its back. The cannon exploded, resulting in the boy being thrown back as ball shot forward into the field.

"637 meters. Not bad." The teacher said, showing a small device with the number on it.

As the tests continued, Zatsu couldn't help but notice his quirk wouldn't be of great use in most of them. Though he tried his hardest, as a new announcement from the teacher declared that the last place would be expelled. The boy's confidence grew as he noticed the next test was something he was good at: the fifty meter dash. He prepared to race against Kagome, who looked at him with a competitive look on her face.

As soon as the alarm rang, the boy ran fifteen meters before immediately teleporting twice to cover a twenty meter gap, finishing the race quickly as he ran the remaining fifteen meters. ' _Four and a half seconds. I don't think I could've done better than that'_ he thought to himself, waking towards the teacher as Kagome reached the end.

"3.9 seconds. Very good." The boy grinned at the teacher's approval, as he saw the Midoriya boy getting ready to throw the ball. His arm glowed for half a second as he threw the ball, which resulted in an anti-climactic try as the ball flew a mere 46 meters into the field.

"Wha-What happened!? I activated my quirk!" The boy said in surprise.

"I erased it. You were going to purposefully hurt yourself and then expect someone to come here and save you. I can't allow that. I gave you quirk back, but if you're just going to get injured you might as well not try." The teacher explained, as the students watched in awe.

The shy boy prepared to throw the ball once again, and this time only his fingertip glowed, but the ball nonetheless shot forward faster than he could notice. "705.3 meters." Said the surprised teacher, but he was interrupted by the blonde boy running towards Midoriya aided by his exploding hands with a furious look on his face. His efforts, however, were in vain as he was grabbed by the professor's special woven cloth.

"You guys are really like forcing me to use my quirk huh? The teacher said, erasing the angry boy's quirk. "Now come, the results should be ready. By the way, that expulsion thing was a lie." Aizawa stated, as the students protested with shock.

Zatsu gulped as he stared at the results, having gotten 20th place. ' _Damn. Thought I had done better.'_ He sighed as Kishigawa boasted to his sister about having a higher score than hers. There was one thought that couldn't leave his mind though. ' _That girl looked like she was having an awful time even though she got one of the highest scores. I wonder what her deal is.'_

 **~-ROTH-~**

As he made his way into the cafeteria, Zatsu spotted a familiar face.

"Shinsou?! You made it! He said, as a boy with blue hair and heavy bags under his eyes approached him.

"Hello, cousin. Long time no see."

"Would you like to sit with me to lunch? We can catch up on the way there!"

"No, but thanks. I have better things to do."

' _Well, that wasn't very nice.'_ concluded the boy. He ended up sitting with the Matsuda twins, who were happy to give him a seat at their table. He was soon joined by Izuku and Uraraka, both of whom looked awkward, and though they sat next to each other, they seemed to be avoiding eye contact.

"There's some really intense chemistry between you two. You guys should sort it out." Said the blonde boy, unashamedly, causing both to blush even further. Zatsu used the opportunity to go to the bathroom, but stopped on the way there as he heard faint cries coming from the back of the building.

"Are you okay?!" He asked loudly, walking towards the sound. He found the mysterious girl there, hunched over with her head in her arms.

"Stupid school… F-for your information, I never wanted to come to this school anyways! My st-stupid mother forced me to become a hero just because of my stupid quirk." The girl said between sobs. "I'm the least heroic person in the entire school; this place is the last place someone like me would fit in!" The girl screamed, before going back to crying.

"What are you talking about? You had some of the best scores on the apprehension test! Besides, anyone can be a hero if they try hard enough." The girl stopped and looked up at him, with red eyes and a running nose.

"D-Do you really think that?"

"Of course! You'd have to be blind to miss your potential"

"That means a lot. T-thank you." The girl said, sniffing her nose.

"Always here if you need me." The boy said, giving her one last look before walking away.

"Hitoshi?" The girl interrupted, as he turned around to face her once more.

"You're a pretty cool guy." She chirped, giving him a smile as he walked back to the cafeteria, not caring anymore about the bathroom.

 **A few hours later.**

As he arrived home later his mother greeted him as soon as he came In, and started asking a million different questions about his first day. "Slow down Mom, I can barely make out what you're saying." The boy laughed, as his mother took a deep breath and faced him again. "So, how was your first day of school?"

"Pretty good, I'd say. I actually met Shinsou there!"

"Your cousin? I haven't talked to his mother in ages! I had no idea he wanted to go to UA."

The night progressed along with their conversation, and soon enough it would be time for another day of school.


	4. Chapter 4 - Battles & Bonds

Zatsu was surprised that they were going to jump into combat so quickly, but he was more anxious to finally get his hero costume, which he hoped would meet his expectations, given it was not an easy request. He walked into the changing room holding the bag with his costume, and quickly changed. When he looked in the mirror upon coming out, he was very surprised.

He saw himself, in a futuristic looking technologic suit, covered with hidden pockets with projectiles he could throw. Instead of a headpiece, the boy opted for a visor which covered his eyes and offered a detailed analysis of whatever he could see in front of him. ' _Wow, they actually did it. They made It better than what I asked for.'_ The boy flexed his muscles before throwing a heroic pose, but quickly shook it off as other people were starting to arrive.

"You look like you came straight out of a video game!" Said Kishigawa, wearing his trademark light blue armor, with a tight black bodysuit underneath.

"At least your costume is simple enough. If mine gets damaged it will probably take forever to get fixed."

"Maybe you shouldn't have made it so complex then! Although I have to say, it looks pretty damn cool…" Zatsu smiled, as both made their way out of the school and into the city replicas where the trials were taking place.

"We decided to sort the 24 of you into 12 teams of two!" Announced All Might, who was conducting the class. "Each round, each team will either take the role of heroes or villains, and then face each other in battle! First team to capture the other team or disarm the hidden bomb wins! Let's see, the first team will be…"

"Wow, everyone looks so cool in their costumes!" Izuku mentioned, turning to Zatsu. Although he didn't say it, the boy's costume was clearly inspired by All Might.

"Seems like Uraraka's your pair." He said, looking at the groups.

"And yours is that Ishihara girl! She's been awfully quiet so far. Do you know anything about her?" Zatsu proceeded to remember his encounter with the crying girl, hoping her quirk would come useful, whatever it was.

"Not really, but I do know she didn't want to become a hero at first." He answered. Izuku looked over at her and started to mumble to himself again, something the class was starting to get used to.

"First battle; Team C as the heroes versus Team E as the villains!" All Might said, taking out two balls from a pair of boxes. ' _I'm team C! I wonder who I'm up against… Shit."_ He realized he would have to face the Matsuda twins, recalling their back-to-back strategy in the entrance exam, where each twin perfectly added to the other's fighting style, despite their differences. He would have to target that synergy, try to make them fight among themselves…

The boy walked over to Ishihara to discuss their strategy, as he had no idea what the girl's abilities entailed. "Ishihara! What's your quirk again? I was a bit distracted during the apprehension test. It's something to do with clouds, isn't it?" The girl was dressed in a white shirt, with detailed wind patterns, and a skirt which seemed to be made of clouds.

"Sort of. I can control the weather around me, though sometimes my emotions get the best of me, like that time yesterday where I had that stupid storm cloud following me around. Anyways, you hang out with those weirdoes, what are their weaknesses?"

"Kagome uses a mix of martial arts, and her quirk is melee only. We'll have to attack her from a distance. If she gets too close, I think she could beat us both by herself. Kishigawa's quirk is more flexible. I wonder whether his armor is a good conductor, we should try shocking him with one of your storm clouds."

"You thought all of that just now?!"

"It's nearly time, let's head to the starting point."

"O-ok" The girl said, still impressed by her teammate's quick strategies.

They would fight in an abandoned subway station, which had received reports of recent villainous activity according to All Might. The heroes positioned themselves away from the entrance as they went back to discussing strategies. After a few minutes of more detailed conversation, they heard the countdown start to decrease. When the countdown reached 0, both teens descended the stairs slowly, looking out for possible ambushes.

"How smart do you think they are?" The girl asked, looking over her shoulder.

"It depends. Kagome seems to be the smarter one of the two, but I think in a combat situation Kishi probably has quicker reactions."

"Kishi? Are you two that close?"

"Never mind that. I'll check that corner; I think I heard something come from over there." The boy took out a round, small disc from a pocket and teleported into the corner, sticking the disc into the ground before quickly teleporting back. The ground around the object lit up as the gadget scanned their surroundings, revealing a hidden tunnel behind a fake wall. "Leave this to me!" Ishihara said, pushing both of her hands forward as a strong gust of wind destroyed the wall. As they entered the tunnel, she turned to the boy once again.

"How did you get that little disc? Did you make it yourself?"

"No, I'm not that good with technology; this suit's looks are just for the style points. My mom made it for me, she was in the support class. It's how she met my father, making gadgets to help his quirk."

"Your father's a pro hero?"

"Was, at least. He was killed in a villain attack when I was three."

"Oh. I'm sorry for bringing that up." The girl said, feeling remorse.

"It's not your fault. I'm used to it."

As they reached the end of the tunnel, the two were left facing a dark station, with a big, empty train that had a gaping hole on its side. "Do you think-" The sentence was interrupted by two different shouts of battle, one coming from the left and one from the right. As both startled teammates prepared to fight, they did not notice two other figures approaching from the remaining sides, leaving them surrounded.

"Kagome must have multiplied…. I have an idea! Hold tight to my arm! Quickly!" Zatsu said, hoping the girl would comply before their enemies reached them. As soon as he felt her grip, he teleported both inside the train and put a hand over her mouth, leaving two confused twins outside.

"That stupid quirk! They must have teleported. Wait, it has a 10 meter radius, remember? They can't be that far! Look inside the train, Kishi, I'll look for them out here." The blonde girl said, as she motioned the train entrance to her brother, who went inside unaware of the two figures waiting for him inside.

Just as he set foot into the dark compartment, he felt a looming mass above him as he was hit by a thunderbolt that left him panting on the ground. "KISHI YOU IDIOT, GET UP!" His sister said, running inside the train, but when she was inside the pair was already running through the other compartments, looking for the bomb.

"Hitoshi! Kagome is catching up to us. Go ahead, I'll hold her."

"Are you sure? I can always stay and teleport back to you later."

"Yes! I have to prove I'm capable of doing this!."

"Ok, I believe in you!" He hoped he sounded truthful, because he did not trust the girl to fight against 3 martial artists at the same time.

As Zatsu ran ahead into the other cabins, Ishihara prepared her moves as she hid a storm cloud above the door, hoping she would be able to pull the same trick she pulled on the other boy.

"Not so scary now, are you?" Kagome asked, entering the room with a smug look on her face. She suddenly split into three again and ran at the other girl, each copy in a different direction.

"Gale force!" Ishihara shouted, releasing powerful winds that pushed the three identical girls back into the wall as the windows broke. Smirking, she tied the unconscious girl and headed to finish the armored boy, but was caught by surprise by the boy's shield hitting her, which resulted in a scream being heard across the train. Zatsu heard the scream and stopped his search. ' _I know I shouldn't do this…'_ He thought, as he changed directions and headed towards the scream.

He saw a shining shield flying in his direction, jumping off of it into his opponent's direction. It seemed like the other boy had predicted this move, as he had another shield in hand and his sword in a striking pose ready to counter the air attack. Izuku saw through the defense and teleported from the air to behind the boy, hitting him with a powerful kick to the back. The blonde boy turned around in pain and swung his sword in his hand. "Don't worry!" He said. "It's not as sharp as it seems!" He continued, still swinging at the other boy's direction.'

' _Crap, I'm out of teleports for now…"_ Zatsu thought, using his last teleport to move out of reach from the sword. He removed a training knife from one of his pockets and held it in his hand, ready to counter whatever was coming at him. Kishigawa surprised him, however, by copying his strategy and throwing the shield in front of him, before jumping on top of it and striking Zatsu from the above, a blow he couldn't dodge. He stumbled backwards and fell onto the floor, faking defeat, as he once again appeared behind Kishigawa, who looked at him with a smile as he defended a punch with his shield.

"Y'know, I haven't had this much fun in a while!" He said, still resisting the incoming punch. He once again shifted strategies by transforming his sword into a lance, and changed to a centurion stance. As this happened, a chase started as Zatsu was once again out of teleports, and decided to just look for the bomb and try to end it in a victory.

He heard the sizzling of the spear flying in his direction as he swung his body around, sliding underneath the spear and jumping up once again, throwing a punch at the boy's helmet, which broke in several shards that disappeared before they hit the ground. "Not bad!" Kishigawa said, deciding to finally fight the boy with his own hands. Zatsu noticed right away that this style was not suited for him, as his opponent was decidedly more experienced than him. Soon enough, a well-placed punch to the jaw knocked the white haired boy unconscious, as All Might declared the Villains' victory.

 **~-ROTH- ~**

Zatsu woke up a few minutes later in a bed near the other students, who were currently watching Izuku and Bakugou fight like sworn enemies. "Hitoshi!" He heard Ishihara shout, as she walked towards him. "It's all my fault, if I hadn't been that careless we wouldn't have lost-""Don't worry about it." The boy interrupted, glad with the results.

"B-but we lost!"

"It doesn't matter. Besides, you had fun right? How did your fight with Kagome go?"

"Oh, you should have seen her face!"

Zatsu smiled at the girl's newfound happiness, as both twins approached his bed. "Zatsu! Ishihara! You two were great! The boy said, enthusiastically. "I gotta say, I did not expect that much power from such a scrawny girl! His sister added, looking at Ishihara.

"Thanks…?"

"Whenever you want to spar, just let me know! You're one of the toughest guys I've had to fight, and that's saying something."

"Ok, I had fun too!" ' _Wish I had won though."_

A powerful explosion in one of the monitors cut their conversation short. Bakugou's broad smile faded as he noticed Izuku had diverted his explosion with his quirk, which opened an opportunity for Uraraka to finish the match. "I wonder what got Bakugou so angry…" Kagome commented, noticing the boy's very visible fury.

"Whatever it is, doesn't seem like it will end anytime soon." Her brother replied.

The other battles were not as eventful, with the exception of Todoroki, who was responsible for the quickest victory as a result of his ice attacks. Zatsu got up to go check on Izuku, who was still getting healed by recovery girl.

"Hey Midoriya, you okay?" He said, walking towards the boy, who still had several bandages on his arms.

"Y-yes, just a shame my costume got damaged. Won't be able to use it for a while."

"That sucks. Maybe they can make it more durable for these kinds of attack."

"Young Hitoshi, can you excuse us for a minute?" All Might said, walking into the room.

"Sure. See ya Midoriya"

"Bye!"

Zatsu thought about his battle with Kishigawa as he walked back to the classroom. In comparison, his life before UA had been incredibly dull. For the first time, he was able to really feel the thrill of fighting someone up and close, which was _definitely_ not the same as his mother's tests. Today, instead of walking home alone, he had the company of his former teammate and opponents, and he could feel a close bond starting to form.


	5. Chapter 5 - Simulations & Tribulations

Chapter 5 – Simulations & Tribulations

The next day, Aizawa led class 1-A into their new training grounds, where they would be participating in trial by rescue. The class was surprised to see the sheer size of the aptly named USJ, but was even more surprised when a hand appeared inside a hole that appeared out of thin air, revealing a big number of villains that proceeded to storm in their direction. As black smoke was released around them from the possible operation leader, the students saw themselves transported to different locations around the park.

The first thing Zatsu saw after being engulfed by the smoke was fire, all around him. He looked around for the other students, and spotted a boy in a white kimono with a massive tail behind him. "Ojiro!" He shouted, getting the other boy's attention.

"Hitoshi. Glad to know I'm not here all by myself."

"We have to go back to the main hall! I would teleport us away from here, but I'm not really sure which direction it is..."

"Then let's focus on finding ourselves first. We're in the conflagration zone, which was on the opposite side of the park. We need to go somewhere high enough to look at our surroundings."

But as he said that, a tall villain that seemed to be made of rocks came into the room from a hole in the wall. "Look what we have here… Snacks!" He said, eyeing both boys. Ojiro then jumped into the air, hitting the tall man in the face with his tail, but his expression was unchanged, and he didn't move an inch.

"Crap... He's strong!"

"Well, he's made of rocks. We won't be able to fight him like that. I have a plan; just follow my lead." Zatsu said, as the villain charged towards them. The boy immediately teleported both out of the man's reach and threw a metal disc at him, which stuck to his arm.

"Gah! What is this thing?" Said the villain, failing to remove the disc from his rocky skin. Zatsu used his confusion as an advantage, putting two extra discs behind his legs before appearing a few meters in front of his opponent, throwing an extra disc in front of him that stuck to the man's chest. "You little…!" The villain said, rushing towards the boy, but before he could reach him the boy pressed a button on his suit, which instantly exploded all of the discs, reducing the villain to a head on top of a pile of rubble, which kept screaming profanities at the two boys, who ignored him.

"Are those discs like the one you used versus the twins?" Ojiro asked, curious.

"Sort of. These are obviously more suited for combat, but yes, they're a similar model."

As they climbed the building's stairs, they found a room which was filled to the brink with villains, who turned to look at the two boys near the door frame. "This is more like it!" Ojiro said, jumping into action as he fought several villains at once in a similar style to Kagome, using martial arts and his tail as a third arm. Zatsu followed suit, and started deploying tear gas discs around the room before triggering them. While the gas managed to incapacitate most villains, a few still stood, and so he focused on knocking out the remaining villains.

The villains were stronger than he thought though, and he had to rely on his weapons as he started dishing out non-lethal blows with his practice daggers. ' _If anyone asks, it was self-defense.'_ The boy decided, taking a more aggressive approach. After a few minutes of close combat, both boys were exhausted, but it seemed like the villains wouldn't be getting up.

"Let's get out of here, before any more of these guys show up." Zatsu agreed, so they made their way to the rooftop and looked around at their surroundings. From the distance, they could see two bulky figures fighting intensely. "Is that… All Might?!" he asked, noticing the familiar moves.

"Must be. C'mon, let's go." Ojiro replied, as the white haired boy teleported both out of the zone.

 **-~ROTH~-**

Ishihara found herself falling as the smoke around her began to fade. Soon, her body hit the water, and she swan upwards to breathe, seeing a boat in front of her as she emerged. She shot upwards into the boat using bursts of wind from her arms, and found Asui, Mineta and Izuku on the boat, drying their clothes.

"Ishihara! You're here too!" The small boy said, surprised.

"Here, let me help you guys with that." The girl said, creating an air current around the group, drying everyone at once. "We need to find a way out of here…" She said looking over the edge of the boat as dozens of villains circled it, swimming in the water.

"I think I have a plan. With you here, the odds of it working raised drastically." Izuku said, making Ishihara blush. "First, you create some thunder clouds around the boat. When I give the signal, you should trigger them and shock those guys there on the water. If everything goes right, they should be stunned for a while. We'll use the time to escape. Tsuyu will jump with Mineta and I'll jump with you. What do you say?"

"I still think we should wait for the pro heroes to rescue us…"

As one of the villains shot an attack towards the boat, the group had to hold onto the walls not to fall. "We don't have the time! Ishihara, do your thing!" Tsuyu said, as their desperation grew.

Ishihara nodded at the plan as she started expelling dark gray clouds from her hands, directing them to the boat's periphery. As soon as the clouds covered a good enough area, Izuku shouted "Now!" She released all of the pressure inside the clouds, creating a big shockwave which caused several lighting rays to hit the water around the boat. By the time the clouds were no longer charged with electricity, Tsuyu used her frog tongue to grab Mineta and jumped with her legs over the lake. Izuku followed suit by offering his hand to Ishihara, who took it and held onto him, as he activated his power and jumped towards the main hall.

"Midoriya, your legs!" She screamed, noticing that they were bent in an unnatural angle.

"Don't worry, I'm getting used to it." He said, holding back the pain.

As they landed with Tsuyu and Mineta, Ishihara noticed how close they were to one of the villains, a guy with several hands attacked to his body. As he stretched his arm in her face's direction, she was frozen by fear. Izuku immediately noticed his intent and jumped forward, preparing a punch. Faster than she could notice the villain who tried to attack her was replaced by a big bulky creature, which seemed unfazed by Izuku's punch.

"Just how powerful are these guys?" She said quietly, cowering in fear, as they used the opportunity to run towards the other students, assisting Izuku by carrying him.

 **-~ROTH~-**

When Kishigawa closed his eyes, there was nothing but smoke around him as he heard the other students' voices. When he opened them, he was sitting in a pile of rubble, with several fallen buildings around him. Though he got separated from his classmates, he could still hear a nearby voice.

"FUCKING COWARD! QUIT RUNNING AWAY!" He didn't even need to look to know who it belonged to.

"Ah, Bakugou! Glad to see you here."

Bakugou immediately started venting his anger by exploding nearby walls, while Kishigawa stared at him, somewhat worried over the boy's mental health.

"Y'know, we should probably look for the exit, unless you have a better idea, _Kacchan."_ He said, provocatively. That captured the boy's attention, as he looked over with genuine anger in his eyes.

"Don't EVER call me that again!"

"You don't seem to mind when Midoriya does it."

"Just shut up!"

The two boys walked together, paying attention to their surroundings as they passed another fallen building. They stopped as they heard a noise inside the rubble, and took fighting stances. They both heard a shrill noise as a villain with a broad smile and unblinking eyes ran at their direction. The strange man didn't have any hands, but instead two large blades sprouting from his arms.

Kishigawa intercepted the tackle with his shield, as he threw his opponent upwards with a quick movement. Meanwhile, Bakugou focused on running towards a villain that looked at him with a scared look on his eyes.

"What is it? Did something scare you?" Bakugou asked, using his explosions to propel himself towards the man, before throwing an explosive punch at the man's face, knocking him out. He looked back at the other boy, who was currently pressing his sword against the smiling man's blades, who had the advantage of having one in each arm. His lone sword was not enough, as it didn't resist and he broke causing him to stumble backwards, switching to his shield while his sword regenerated in his hand. Bakugou flew over with his quirk and once again threw an explosive punch, this time at the man's arms, breaking his blades. The man's grin broke into a frown as he turned around and ran from the angry boy, but didn't get very far as Bakugou caught up and slapped his back, causing an explosion that sent him straight to the ground, unconscious.

"Thanks, Bakugou. That guy was giving me some serious trouble!"

"Shut up. Let's leave this place."

The boys ran and soon found themselves in the entrance, and soon they reunited with the other students, though some were still missing. He met with his sister, who had been one of the students who managed to avoid the smoke. The girl ran over and pulled him into a strong hug as soon as she set her eyes on him. The girl then released him and slapped his face.

"KISHIGAWA MATSUDA, YOU LEFT ME HERE WORRIED SICK!" She screamed, leaving him embarrassed.

"C'mon sis, you should expect more of me. Besides, it wasn't even my fault we got separated."

"You should also thank me. I saved that idiot's ass."

"YOU SEE WHY I DON'T TRUST YOU? YOU'RE LUCKY KATSUKI WAS THERE!" Although nobody noticed, Bakugou didn't seem to mind the girl's use of his first name.

"Watch out!" Kagome screamed, as All Might's fight with the Noumu seemed to be heading their way. The group took their distance and resumed the conversation.

"Where's Zatsu anyways? I thought he would have been here by now." At this moment, Zatsu appeared behind them looking exhausted holding Ojiro, who had a few bruises. "Wait, Zatsu?! Are you guys ok?"

"Yes, we just had a minor encounter with some villains. It seems like Hitoshi here exhausted himself though."

"N-no no, it's fine I can totally-" The boy said, before collapsing into the ground. The group helped him up, and exchanged stories. As they were deep in conversation, they did not notice All Might's victory over the Noumu, and didn't notice the lanky figure approaching. Shigaraki Tomura grabbed Kishigawa and put him into a headlock, slowly walking backwards. The group panicked, surprised by the villain's appearance.

"Sensei will like an extra quirk…"He said to himself quietly. "If any of you make a move, I'll kill the boy." To validate his claim, he placed a finger on the boy's face, disintegrating some of the skin, leaving a bleeding hole.

"DON'T FUCKING TOUCH HIM YOU CREEP!" Kagome screamed, but was held back by Bakugou, who had a scared look on his face.

Zatsu saw the desperation in his friend's eyes, as he was pulled backwards by the villain, and decided he had to do something. He realized there was no time for strategies when he noticed the black smoke starting to appear around the pair. The boy teleported twice in the villain's direction, but there was still plenty of ground to cover. _'Shit. I never managed to do it, but I guess now's better than ever to try.'_ He summoned all of the strength left in his body as he teleported a third consecutive time, an unprecedented feat for the boy. He grabbed Shigaraki, releasing his friend from his grasps as the scared boy ran towards the pro heroes who had arrived on the scene, courtesy of Iida.

' _I won't have time to go back, but I won't let this bastard go free!'_ He thought, as he used his last remaining energies to kick Shigaraki Tomura in the direction of the heroes, which quickly subdued him. The last thing he saw before fainting was Izuku running towards him as the black smoke surrounded his body.


	6. Chapter 6 - Captivity & Insecurity

Izuku Midoriya ran towards his fallen friend, hurrying to reach him before the smoke completely encircled him. He jumped, activating his powers, but ultimately fell on the group as the black smoke dissipated, leaving nothing behind. "He's gone…" Midoriya looked back with tears in his eyes as he punched the ground with all his might.

 **A day later**

Kishigawa sat alone in his room. He still blamed himself for Zatsu's kidnapping, and although deep down he knew there was nothing he could do, he still looked for possible solutions. At the moment, he was considering hanging posters with the boy's face. ' _As if that's going to help…'_ He thought, as his sister entered the room.

"Kishi, dinner's been ready for a while. You should eat, don't sit in your room sulking all day, you know it wasn't your fault."

"If I had paid more attention, that villain guy wouldn't have grabbed me! First Bakugou had to save me, now Zatsu! I'm nothing but a damsel in distress!"

"No one saw him coming, blaming yourself isn't going to make Zatsu magically appear!" Kishigawa lifted his face, looking his sister in the eyes as she realized he had been crying recently.

"Eat, it'll help you. It always does." She said, awkwardly, as her brother followed her out of the room.

 **-~ROTH~-**

Zatsu woke up in a cold, hard floor. He was only in his undergarments, his hero costume nowhere to be seen. He saw the door in front of him and immediately teleported to its other side. He was now standing in a dark hallway, which looked like it hadn't seen a janitor in quite a while. He saw a guard in front of him, who noticed his appearance and became alerted. The boy teleported again and started running, but didn't get very far as the guard caught up to him and threw him back in his room.

He gave the room a good look. It had nothing but walls, and a plate with a cup of water and stale bread on the floor. He rushed over to the food and started eating, realizing how hungry he was. "How long have I been out?" He said quietly, to himself, disregarding how bad it all tasted.

"Approximately three days." Said a deep voice which came from above him. The boy looked up and noticed a speaker in the ceiling.

"Who are you?"

"You caused us some great damage. The only reason we haven't taken your quirk yet is boss is busy with other things."

"That's not what I asked…"

"You're in no place to be asking things. Now, tell us more about UA."

"Why would I ever do that?"

"Because if you don't, you won't get any more food." Zatsu quietly considered his offer. He _was_ very hungry, and as long as he didn't say anything compromising there wouldn't be any problem.

"Fine! What do you want to know?"

The boy was interrogated for about an hour, with questions ranging from his classmates' quirks to the school's layout, a topic in which he tried to be as vague as possible. Finally, the door opened and the guard brought in another plate, with more of the same. The boy dug in again, and was once again left unsatisfied. Zatsu waited a few hours, when he was sure that his captors wouldn't be expecting anything.

"Hey, guard guy?" He called, putting his ear to the door;.

"What is it?" The guard said, walking towards the room. When Zatsu was confident the man was standing in front of the door, he activated his power, appearing behind the guard and throwing a kick that connected to the man's head, which banged against the door as he fell unconscious to the floor. He ran across the hallway, going into other rooms looking for his missing gear. He finally found it in one of the last rooms, on top of a table. Putting on the costume, he shifted focus to finding a way out. After teleporting through a few doors, he found a window which indicated he was in a building with at least a few floors.

"What's one more bruise anyway…" The boy considered his options, deciding to take the easy one and teleport through the window as he fell a few meters before teleporting closer to the ground to soften the fall. Before passing out he was glad to see a few people rushing over to help him.

 **-~ROTH~-**

Zatsu heard a few voices around him as he slowly opened his eyes.

"SHUT UP! He's waking up." He recognized Kagome's voice, and when his vision cleared he was in a hospital bed, surrounded by familiar faces. His mother sat sleeping in a chair next to the door, as the Matsuda twins, Ishihara and Izuku looked at him apprehensively. "So… what exactly happened?!" Kagome said, breaking the ice.

"I… woke up in an empty room." Zatsu continued, telling them the story of his escape, sparing the details which gave him more food. By the time he had finished, a doctor had come in the room.

"Ah! Hitoshi, you're finally awake! I'm sorry to say this, but you'll probably have to stay the night while we run some tests. You were dehydrated when you came in, and that stunt you pulled got your legs broken." The doctor explained, as the boy noticed his legs were encased in casts. "If we can get Recovery Girl here, she'll probably be able to fix your legs before the end of the week."

With the commotion, his mother finally woke up, looking around before setting her eyes on Zatsu. "Son! You're awake!" She ran over and engulfed him in a rib-breaking hug. "You have NO idea of how worried I was when they said you were missing!" The boy looked over her shoulder and noticed Kishigawa looking down at the floor, with a guilty look on his face.

"What happened to that handy-villain guy?" He asked, remembering his arrest.

"He's currently being held by the police, though they haven't been able to get much information out of him. Guy's seriously dedicated to his cause." Ishihara answered.

"Y'know, if I had activated my quirk sooner you would have probably gotten out ok…" Izuku said, under his breath.

"Ok, I'm done with people feeling guilty about MY decisions. NONE of what happened was any of you guys' fault, so stop with it! He shouted, angrily. The group said their goodbyes and left awkwardly, leaving the boy alone to an uneventful evening.

 **-~ROTH~-**

The next day, Zatsu arrived in the school in a temporary wheelchair as he hadn't met with recovery girl yet. He rolled late into the classroom just as Aizawa announced the return of the sports festival, which had been postponed due to the boy's kidnapping.

"What did I miss?" He asked, nonchalantly.

"Good to see you back, Hitoshi." The professor said, as the class circled him and started asking questions. "Leave the boy alone, he's just been through a lot." Aizawa said, prompting the standing students to return embarrassed to their seats. The thankful boy rolled over to his usual seat. "The festival will begin next week, so you should be allowed to participate, Hitoshi. The day progressed normally, but the boy dreaded the lunch break. When it finally came, he had to repeat his escape story to at least 10 different students, some of which he didn't even know. By the time another student came up to him, he was already fed up and ignored him, walking into Recovery Girl's office hoping to have his legs healed. His hopes were soon shattered by her answer.

"Sorry, but they won't be fully well until at least the end of the month, so I think participating in that festival Is out of the bag here," She said, after applying her quirk to the boy's legs. Zatsu looked at her in shock.

"B-but the doctor said-"

"Nonsense! I've worked with students like you my entire life, now you should only focus on resting." He rolled out of her office and headed to lunch, disappointed he wouldn't be able to participate in what could be his chance to get in the spotlight. ' _Oh well, at least I'll get to watch it up and close instead of through a television screen.'._ Even if he wasn't going to participate, he would still train his hardest to make sure his classmates would not overshadow him.


	7. Chapter 7 - Crushes & Jail Cells

Zatsu rolled towards the cafeteria with a disappointed look on his face. After getting his food, he sat at his usual table, which had its population expanded to include Ishihara.

"Hey Zatsu! How did it go with Recovery Girl?" Kishigawa asked with his usual enthusiasm.

"Turns out I won't be able to participate in the sports festival. She said my legs will only get better by the end of the month!"

"Oh man, that sucks! You will root for me, though, right? I was your first friend here!"

"We met him at the same time, dummy." Kagome replied to her brother's request.

"I'll root for all three of you equally, how about that?"

"Fine. Try not to show any favoritism just because you have a crush on weather girl over there!" Kagome said teasingly, making both of them blush. She got up carrying her plate and Ishihara ran after her, too embarrassed to say goodbye.

"Speaking of crushes… I may need your help with a little something." Kishigawa said, getting closer to Zatsu. "I wanted to ask Momo out on a date, but I have no idea what to do!"

"And why do you think I know how to ask girls out?"

"Y'know, the whole mysterious loner thing you have going on! I would be lying if I said the girls don't talk about you behind your back. "

"Well, I know as much as you do. But I'll try to help in any way I can."

"I was thinking of making Bakugou angry at you, and then I show up and defend you from the bully, saving the day! She'll be all over me, you'll see! Plus, after I got that scar on my cheek I look way more brave!" Kishigawa said, making a heroic pose.

"There's only one problem there. I'm not that suicidal. "

"Don't worry about that, I don't think Kacchan would hit someone in a wheelchair!"

" _Kacchan_? You really plan on getting him mad don't you?"

"That's the plan, yes." He said, confidently.

"Ok, I'm in. You're paying my hospital bills afterwards."

After lunch, Kishigawa walked over to Bakugou's locker. He looked again at the crumpled note in his hand. It read:

' _Hey fuckface! I think your power sucks and that Midoriya could beat you whenever he wanted._

 _Zatsu Hitoshi.'_

He smirked as he rolled it into the locker. ' _Now we wait…'_ He thought to himself, though showing the note to Zatsu beforehand would probably have been better. He returned to the classroom and sat quietly in his seat, awaiting the rest of the class.

A few minutes after Zatsu had entered, Bakugou came in with a glare that would probably kill if it looked directly at anyone. "HITOSHI!" He screamed, lunging at the surprised boy with a punch already forming. Kishigawa quickly jumped in with a shield already formed in his hand and stopped the incoming explosion.

"Hm! Going after the injured kid. Low blow, Bakugou!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" He screamed again. Kishigawa grabbed his arm and pulled him outside. Zatsu looked over to Momo, who looked at the door worryingly. An explosion could be seen from outside, and Bakugou walked back in followed by Kishigawa, who had his hair on fire and a face covered with ashes.

"A-are you ok Matsuda?!" Asked Momo. "I'll take you to Recovery Girl, c'mon!"

"I'll take you up on that offer." He said, before looking back towards Zatsu and winking.

 **-~ROTH~-**

After leaving school, Zatsu decided to go to the police station, hoping he could have a word with the villain he was partially responsible for arresting. As the boy entered the building he rolled over to the counter and got the receptionist's attention.

"Erm, could I talk to Shigaraki Tomura? He's one of the guys arrested at UA a few days ago."

"What's your name?"

"Oh, er-"The conversation was interrupted by a policeman approaching him.

"Hitoshi! Didn't think I'd see you this soon. I'm officer Tsukauchi; I was at the USJ the day you were captured."

"Oh, hi! Could I talk to that villain guy, with the hands?"

"Are you sure? He seemed to have a few screws missing, if you know what I mean."

"Yes, I'd like to get some things cleared up."

"Oh, in that case I can take you there. Though I think it would be better if you don't tell anyone else about this."

"Sure…"

They passed a few hallways, before entering the last room in the corridor .In the middle of the room sat a thin man with both of his hands stuck to devices on his sides, which prevented him from moving them.

"S-Shigaraki?" Zatsu asked. What he got as an answer was a dry scream as the man in front of him looked at him in disgust.

"H-hey man, what's up? How's life in jail?" Shigaraki simply stared at the boy, with a serious expression on his face.

Again, he got no answer. "You said your Sensei would like another quirk. How does that work? Can you guys remove someone's quirk?"

"You have no idea of the size of Sensei's power."

"I don't think that answers my question…"

After that, he gave up trying to get answers and decided to go home. As he prepared to cross the street, he felt his entire body go numb as it started to seemingly move on its own. 'W-what?' He tried to say, but no words came out of his mouth.

His body was rolling the wheelchair towards the street, and he could do nothing but stare. By the time he was in the middle of the busy street, he hoped someone would notice him there. He felt a strong light on his side as he heard a loud honk from a truck, which snapped him out of his zombie-like state.

"S-SORRY!" He screamed, before hurryingly leaving the street. ' _What the hell was that? Maybe I was wrong about not being suicidal...'_


	8. Chapter 8 - Possesion & Obstacle Course

Zatsu arrived home with the truck incident still fresh on his mind. As he opened the door he realized he had forgot to tell his mother he would be late. He entered the living room and found her walking around the room on her phone.

"I don't know the name of any of his friends! I don't know who- Zatsu!" She shouted, noticing his arrival. "Where have you been?! Do you have any idea how worried I was?"

"Yeah, about that… Sorry. I just decided to pass by a friend's house on the way here and I forgot to call you."

"I would ground you, but I'll leave that for the next time you pull something like this."

"Right… won't happen again."

"By the way, when will you be able to leave that wheelchair?"

"I think by next week I could already start using crutches, but it could take longer."

"That friend you visited… was it a girl?" She said, smiling at the now blushing boy.

"N-no, mom."

"If you were seeing someone, you _would_ tell me right?"

"Y-yes, of course!" ' _Not in a million years.'_ He thought to himself.

He quickly went to his room to avoid another round of awkward conversation, and settled for studying new strategies. ' _My classmates are probably training overtime for the festival tomorrow. Their performances could well mean internship offers… I can't fall behind now. If I can't practice my quirk, then I can at least study heroism. Chapter 9: Rescue Situations…'_

 _ **-~ROTH~-**_

 _A week later_

Zatsu woke up sitting in front of a book. ' _Must have dozed off again…Oh, right! My legs!'_ He carefully tried to stand up from his wheelchair with the assistance of a pair of crutches he bought. Though it still hurt a little, he felt he had gotten the hang of it. He walked out of his room and sat at the kitchen table to have breakfast, before realizing he was late for the first day of the sports festival. He quickly made his way back to his room and put on his uniform.

"Bye mom!" He said rushing towards the door, not bothering to wait for an answer.

As he entered the subway station he felt a familiar feeling. His entire body had gone numb and he lost control. His body was now walking slowly towards the platform gap. When he was about to take the last step that would send him falling towards his death he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Hitoshi!" A feminine voice said behind him, as he regained control.

"Ishihara? I didn't know you took the same train as me."

"What do you think you're doing?! Do you really plan to kill yourself?"

"N-no, I'll explain later! We have to hurry or we'll be late to the festival!"

"Oh, right! Let's go!"

The pair ran into the train and stood next to each other, and a few seconds later it departed.

"So… Having any dark thoughts lately?" The girl asked, breaking the ice.

"I don't know what's going on with me. Sometimes I feel my entire body go numb and suddenly I can't control it anymore. This is the second close call I get!"

"Do you think it could be something the villains did to you?"

"It's a possibility… I mean, I'd been out for a couple of days when I woke up. Is there any way to check for something like that? Being under the influence of someone's quirk?"

"We should ask Aizawa later." She answered. Zatsu nodded and the rest of the ride passed rather quickly, but in silence.

 **-~ROTH~-**

"Kishi! Where's weather girl? The opening ceremony's about to start!" Kagome said to her brother, who was currently trying to stay awake.

"I'm here! Sorry… woke up a bit too late." Ishihara ran up to them and stopped to rest. "Hitoshi's in the stands. He told us to do our best!"

"You bet we will!" Kishigawa said, yawning.

After a disastrous opening ceremony in which Bakugou took another chance to show his pride in himself, the first event was announced as an obstacle race. The trio made their way to the area, looking around for familiar faces.

"If we end up close to Todoroki, watch out for his quirk. Remember how he froze everything near him in the battle trial?"

"You worry too much sis! What's a little ice to my amazing armor?" Kishigawa said, producing a spotless armor which now had spikes on the shoes to avoid getting stuck. "Look at my shoes! They're-"

"START!" The group was surprised by the announcement, but quickly found their footing and started to run. True to Kagome's prediction, Todoroki began using his quirk and freezing the masses trying to fit through the narrow opening. While most were affected, some, like Kishigawa, managed to break free and continue running.

Ishihara used her air currents to gain back some space as she blew away everyone who got near her, while Kagome relied on her copies to break the ice holding her back.

"Time to show off my special skill!" Kishigawa said, before jumping and landing on a horse made of pure energy, which he used to gain speed. He saw a few robots in front of him, noticing Bakugou exploding his way past them. He brandished his sword and shield and jumped onto one of the robot's arm, disintegrating the horse.

As he noticed the arm was close to falling, he then jumped on the robot's head, just as several pieces of metal fell from the arm and were quickly grabbed by Izuku. Kishigawa used the opportunity to jump off of the robot's head and land back on his horse, as he heard Izuku using the scrap metal to get past the robot.

As he arrived on the next part, he noticed a big canyon, and quickly formulated a plan to get past without having to walk through those stupid ropes linking the platforms. He formed two miniature cannons like the one he used to launch the ball, but this time stuck to the backside of his legs. He jumped into the air and activated both at once, propelling the boy forwards.

Kagome made her way past the destroyed robots, surprised by her brother's secret strategy. She arrived on the canyon and used her acrobatic skills to get through the ropes as fast as possible, hoping she would arrive in time to qualify to the next phase. She looked back and saw Ishihara, who was comically afraid of heights, trying to get past the canyon. She looked back forwards just in time to see her brother fall out of the air face first into the ground, before getting up and continue running. Since first and second place were already taken by Bakugou and Todoroki, she would have to settle for third.

Suddenly, Izuku jumped past both twins, still holding his piece of scrap, which he then used as a body board and jumped on a handful of mines on the ground, which launched the boy into first place, shocking those around him. Kishigawa regained composure and jumped into the air, summoning his horse underneath him.

Kishigawa reached the finish line riding his horse in fourth place, followed by a girl whose hair seemed to be made of vines. Kagome soon reached it too, managing to get eighth place. Upon finishing, both twins looked back and searched for Ishihara among the contestants reaching the finish line. She soon came into view, and closed the race in 24th place, which left her satisfied.

The trio waited for the next event to be announced, and soon enough it was announced they would work in groups in a human cavalry battle.

"Hey! We can work together in this one! You two wanna form a group? " Kishigawa asked, looking over at the duo.

"You go on top, I'll use my copies to help Ishihara carry you around. I feel like if we focus on defense we might win, since weather girl can blow people away and you have infinite shields."

"I think I have a better plan, one that's more flexible…" Kishigawa said, mysteriously, as the group took on battle formation and marched onwards into battle.


	9. Chapter 9 - Cowboys & Zombies

"So, Kishi. Care to explain your brilliant plan?" Kagome said, sarcastically.

"Okay. You'll make two copies of yourself; one of them will help you and Ishihara carry me. I'll make a rope and use it to lasso other teams, so when they drop to the ground and get disqualified your other clone can run up to them and grab their points. Anyone have anything else to add?" The other two looked at him incredulously, and he stared, confused..

"Since when have you been the strategist, Kishi?"

"I mean, you always went through with your own plans instead of consulting me."

"1 MINUTE LEFT" A loud voice shouted.

"Is the hat really necessary?" Ishihara asked, looking at Kishigawa, who now had a cowboy hat on.

"Absolutely. You'll never get an internship without style points!" He grinned.

"I thought you liked medieval stuff. Are you into western now?"

"I still like knights! It's just-"

"Whatever. Let's be prepared for when it starts." Interrupted Kagome. By this point, the girl didn't question her brother's actions. Living with him for 15 years made it all too predictable. As Kishi looked over at her angrily, they could see the other teams getting ready for the imminent start. He soon materialized his lasso and held it tightly, remembering to cover possible openings with his armor.

They didn't have a lot of time to practice walking around though, because soon enough the bell rang and the trial began. The arena was quickly overrun by an array of different quirks and teams, ranging from the flashy ones like Bakugou's explosions to more subtle ones that at first didn't seem to be relevant, but when revealed could cause serious damage.

The trio ran towards the action as Kishigawa raised his lasso and started spinning his lasso, looking for potential targets. Soon, they spotted a black haired boy who seemed to be nervous being carried by two others. Kishi threw his rope in their direction, encircling the boy.

"Got him!" He said, pulling the group towards them.

"Pull harder, Kishi!

"I-I'm trying!" He answered, struggling to counter the boy's tries to free himself. Finally, the boy gave In and fell off, disqualifying the team.

"Kagome, do your thing!" Ishihara shouted. The girl nodded and produced another copy, which ran up to the fallen boys and grabbed their points. The trio looked around for more targets, but their scanning of the arena was interrupted by Bakugou angrily screaming at a blonde boy, who looked smugly at him.

"Man, look at Bakugou's face! Let's go the other way before he explodes at that guy!" Just as he finished making the suggestion, a powerful explosion blew them back, nearly knocking Kishigawa down. With that, they headed the other way.

"Hey, check out that group! They look like three zombies carrying an insomniac!" Kishi commented, looking over at a group composed by three people with vacant eyes and a boy with blue hair and eye bags.

"Isn't that Hitoshi's cousin?" Ishihara inquired, remembering the boy's description.

"It totally is! Kishi, did Zatsu tell you that guy's quirk?"

"He probably did, but I think I forgot. Doesn't matter though, I'll just take him down before he gets to use it!" Kishigawa then threw his lasso at one of the boys, who didn't seem to mind the rope around his neck. As Zatsu's cousin said something to the boy Kishi pulled the rope, bringing the two of them to the ground and leaving the other two standing confused.

"Sis!"

"On it." Kagome said, sending a copy over to them.

As the copy came back with more points, the group saw in the distance a large ice structure, presumably created by Todoroki's quirk. Inside there seemed to be a fierce battle between the boy's team and Izuku's team.

"I wonder what got Todoroki so worked up. Anyway, let's focus on defense now that we have a good number of points!" Kishi advised. "Check this out!" The boy vanished the rope and opened his arms, creating a bubble shield which covered the team, just in time to defend the incoming attacks from a couple of groups aiming for a last minute rampage. "Hold on… Ishihara, prepare some wind! It's not going to last a lot longer!"

Ishihara then started to release currents from her hands, which encircled the group inside the bubble. As the currents started to mix and form a small hurricane, Kishigawa released the bubble, which caused the hurricane to grow and push back the attempts to steal their points.

"TIME'S UP!"

The group walked up to the section where the winning teams were going to be announced, hoping to have gotten to the next phase.

"L-Look! We did it! Fourth place!" Kishi shouted, before hugging both girls.

"Phew… That was close! Good job, weather girl! Didn't know your winds were that strong!" Kagome cheered,

"Yeah… the pressure difference helped the hurricane get bigger. At least that's how I think it happened. Kishigawa, can you let us go now? It's getting a little tight."

"Sorry. C'mon, let's talk to Zatsu while the next event doesn't start!"

 **-~ROTH~-**

Zatsu got up from his seat. He saw his cousin sitting on a nearby bench, and decided to approach him.

"Shinsou… I saw what you did to those boys. That wasn't very nice."

"That's none of your business."

"Even though I don't know Aoyama very well, Ojiro's a friend. It kinda is my business."

"Whatever. Listen, just because I don't have a flashy quirk like yours It doesn't mean you have the right to judge how I use mine."

"What's the harm in letting them make their own decisions?! Your quirk is great in a lot of different situations! You're wasting its potential by using it in the wrong targets!"

"You don't know me. Those kids would never have partnered with me if it wasn't for my quirk. People look at me and fear for the worst. Stop trying to help me." Shinsou got up and walked away.

"T-that's-Shinsou! Wait! Damn…" Zatsu tried to follow him but quickly lost his way through the crowds.

"Hey Zatsu! Good to see you!" The white haired boy turned around and saw Kishigawa, followed by his sister and Ishihara.

"Hey guys! You did great! That last move caught everyone by surprise, but I feel that Midoriya and Todoroki may have stolen the spotlight for themselves."

"What's the deal with your cousin? The guys carrying him looked like zombies."

"His quirk allows him to control people who talk to him. Always got made fun of because of it, everyone thought he was going to end up as a villain. I guess that's the reason he always looks so… gloomy. Today he somehow looked gloomier than usual, so I tried to talk to him. I get the feeling he doesn't like me very much."

"That sucks. Hey, let's get some hotdogs! Kagome offered, running off on her own towards the stand.

"Go ahead, I'll go to the bathroom real quick." Zatsu said, separating himself from the other three as he walked down a corridor. He stopped when he heard two voices talking ahead of him.

"You All Might's illegitimate child, or what?"

He kept walked towards the voices and found Izuku and Todoroki talking by themselves.

"Am I… interrupting something?" He asked, awkwardly.

"N-no, I was just going!" Izuku said, hurrying out of the corridor.

"Hmph."Todoroki muttered before going the other way.

' _Well, that was odd.'_ Zatsu thought to himself.

He wondered, what were they talking about that led to Todoroki asking that question? And now that he gave it proper thought, Izuku's quirk _did_ bear some good similarities to All Might's. ' _Huh. Midoriya never denied it. What if he really is All Might's son?'_ He quickly dismissed the thought, clearing his head.


End file.
